Where My Demons Hide
by petersgamora
Summary: Set directly after 5x22. Bonnie finally got her own peace, but what if she wanted Elena to have hers as well? Delena/Steroline.
1. The Worst

**A/N: I actually cried over this. I cried, and I am unhappy with the fact that my beloved Salvatore is dead. So I've come up with my own explanation/solution. We'll see where this goes.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, not mine.**

**Chapter One: The Worst**

She barges into the crypt, her long hair mussed and a frantic gleam in her doe eyes. Her gaze falls on the extinguished candles and the heart in her chest accelerates. "Bonnie! We need to find them. We need to start the spell again." Her voice is fraught with desperation as she pleads with the witch.

"We can't! That was our one shot," Bonnie answers, shaking her head.

"Yeah, but Damon is on the other side…we have to…"

"Elena," the witch says her name softly, reaching out to take her hand. Elena lifts her eyes to Bonnie's, tears forming in her eyes. The Bennett girl swallows past the lump in her throat, her heart heavier than lead in that one moment. "It's too late," she murmurs. She knows he's there. She can feel him there with them, but the pain in her chest at the sheer idea of that is debilitating. She fights the urge to cry, balling her fists and steadying herself. At first, she doesn't comprehend how she can be so sorrowful over him of all people. Then it hits her. She doesn't hate him, not anymore. She does not hate him because she can see how good he is—he was for Elena, and how good she is for him. He has saved both of their lives more times than she dares count, and she figures she won't ever stop owing him for that. She wants to think this is why it breaks her in this moment. "He's here. You can say goodbye," she says as a final remark and leaves the crypt.

Elena falls back against the wall of the crypt as the sobs wrack her frame. Tears spill down her cheeks and she entangles her fingers in her hair, lowering her head to her knees as she lets loose and just cries. Her whole world has shattered in quite literally the blink of an eye, and part of her wants to blame him. He lied. He left her. He broke his promise.

"You lied to me," she grates out past the tears, her breath coming in hiccups from the force of her tears. Damon reaches out and strokes her hair, letting his thumb caress the curve of her cheekbone. She opens her eyes in that moment, watching as a lock of her hair moves seemingly of its own accord and she _knows_ he is there.

"Even if I wanted to apologize, you couldn't hear me," he says softly, "so I won't."

"Please don't leave me," Elena sobs, pouring ever ounce of what remained of her heart into that plea. _ I will never leave you again,_ his words echo in her mind. Her heart breaks along with the promise, and right now, she isn't so sure she can go on. Not without him.

"I don't have a choice, baby," he says in response. "You are, by far, the greatest thing that has ever happened to me in my 173 years on this Earth. I get to die knowing I was loved not just by anyone, but you, Elena Gilbert. It's the epitome of a fulfilled life. It's never gonna get any better than this. I peeked." He brushes the tears from her face. "I love you, Elena."

"Please," she begs of him if he can hear her, "Please…come back to me." For a moment, she thinks she feels his lips brushing a kiss on her cheek, but she gives no serious thought to it.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Other Side, Bonnie stands and faces the destructive light ripping and tearing at the fabric of existence before her eyes. Her grandmother stands beside her, and she turns to her with a small question, "Grams, I know you've done so much. Thank you for that, but please, if I could just ask you for one more favor?"

"He preserved the Bennett witch line. He protected my ancestors, and he protected me."

"He also severed it, Bonnie; you've left that out. You know why I can't do this. It will set nature out of balance," the older witch answers.

"Nature is already out of balance with the resurrection spell," Bonnie counters. She thinks for a minute, grasping at straws for a possible way to reset the balance. An answer presents itself, but when the thought of it unfolds, she can see already it will cause just as much pain. "A trade, then. One Salvatore for another. Besides, Stefan already died when the Travelers ripped his heart out. Damon wasn't meant to die."

"My hands are tied, Bonnie. I can do no more. The witches won't agree. You may yet have the strength while this place still remains." She mumbles a quiet 'thank-you' to her grandmother and closes her eyes, drawing on what remains of the raw power in her to form the spell on her lips. She can almost feel the tendrils of magic flowing from her and rooting deep into the ancient ground beneath her feet. _He was ready to die,_ a still small voice whispers in her head space. _It is always a life for a life, and he is ready to die. Nature will be in balance again._ She repeats these words as a mantra while she waits for the spell to make its connection to him, the last living Salvatore.

The witch's spirit is, in essence, right outside the crypt where the doppelganger mourns. The latter is curled into a ball, rocking back and forth as sobs wrack her frame and not even the gentle touch of her history teacher-turned-vampire-hunter could calm her grief. It's when the wind picks up outside that he senses something is wrong.

"Elena, the wind. The wind's picking up," Alaric comments, rising slowly from his position by her side. He stands and steps toward the crypt's open door, looking out into the wind-ravaged woods. Gale force winds rip through the trees and gust in his face, forcing him to squint against the sheer force. Lightning cracks across the night sky, filling it with blinding light. He watches the insane weather for a few more minutes before turning back inside. He leans his back against the wall opposite Elena and sinks down to the floor. "That usually means witchy whoowhoo, according to Da—according to previous experience," he remarks, catching himself.

"There was nothing she could do. She told me that, Ric. It's not her, and it's probably just the Other Side falling apart," Elena says dejectedly. Alaric shifts again and crawls over to sit beside her. He somewhat awkwardly wraps an arm around her and pats her back.

"I don't think it's fair either, to be honest," the hunter says. "Sick twist of fate that I'm here instead of him. Elena, you know what I told him last time I saw him? Not just now, but when Bonnie dropped the veil?"

"What?" It comes out muffled under a sniffle, but he hears the question.

"I said, 'Get the girl'. Do you really think he'd let go of you that easy?"

"He didn't get the girl, Ric. The girl lost him, and he did let go of me," she sniffles, wiping furiously at the tears. She runs a hand through her smooth tresses, pulling away from Ric to pace back and forth. "He let go when he didn't come back. He broke his promise." Her voice cracks at the last statement and she dissolves into another fit of sobbing. "That's the worst, Ric. He broke it, and he broke me, but I love him. I can't stop."

He gestures for her to come back and sit beside him.

She doesn't fight it.

She crashes into him and closes her eyes, her shaking shoulders and the tears rolling silently down her pretty face the only sign of her sadness.

**A/N: Thoughts? Love it? Hate it? Tell me. More to come. **


	2. The Second Part

**Disclaimer: Nope, if I did, Damon would be mine. ;) **

**A/N: Wow guys, I know 5 reviews isn't a lot, but it's something. I didn't expect any and to be honest, I'm grateful. Thank you (it really means a lot!). I plan on continuing this now, so please give me your thoughts in a review. **

**Chapter Two: The Second Part**

She has never been _this_ alone. At least, she feels like she's never been so alone as she is now. She is sleeping in _his_ bed every day of the past week, and the pillow beneath her head is stained with tears. She hides in her dreams, retreating from the cruel reality fate has thrust upon her. In sleep, she decides to believe nothing has changed. She's lying there with _him_, her head nestled against _his_ chest and _his_ arm wrapped protectively around her frame. She feels the faint rhythm of his heart beating beneath her ear, and she tells herself _he_ isn't gone. _He_ never left. Unbeknownst to her, a tear slips out of the corner of her closed eye.

The phone vibrating against her nightstand rattles her out of her sleep, and the moment her eyes open, reality comes crashing down on her. _No more crying,_ she tells herself as she pushes herself upright in the bed, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. _I'm sick of crying._ She ignores the rattling cell phone and stares blearily at the sunlight filtering through the window. The sun is out and shining, and the birds are chirping as if nothing's happened. _What a lie that is,_ she thinks to herself. Finally, she snatches the phone and glances at the caller ID. 'Caroline Forbes' flashes on the LED screen. She swipes the lock screen and holds the phone to her ear. "Care, it's 7 in the morning."

Caroline screams much too loud into her cell phone's speaker. "ELENA! Elena, you have to come to my place right now, please." Her friend's voice sounds distraught, and the hyper-neurotic blonde sounds not unlike Elena the week before.

"Caroline, whoa, what happened? Slow down and tell me what happened," she tries to get her friend to calm down enough to make coherent speech. The blonde on the other hand sucks in a deep breath and does as ordered. She delivers the news with a shaking, intermittent voice marked by the occasional sob or sniffle. When Caroline finishes, Elena nearly drops the phone. The news had hit her like a punch to the gut, especially so soon after… _I lost him_, she finishes in her head. _What sort of life is this? I lose both of them now?_ "I-I just woke up, and um I'll call Ric.

Ric drives her to the Forbes' place and within seconds, they're out of the car and heading inside the house. In the parlor, they find Caroline on the floor, bowed over a prone Stefan Salvatore. The blonde seizes him and shakes him a few times, turning him over in her arms to brush the hair back from his forehead. She slaps his cheek and shouts at him,

"Wake up, Stefan! God, please wake up!" She starts to shake him again until it's Elena who comes to her friend's side and extends willowy arms around the blonde's shaking frame. Elena pulls Caroline close and away from Stefan.

"Caroline, shh, it'll be okay. It's going to be okay, alright?" Elena whispers, guiding Caroline up off the floor and onto the couch.

"But what if it isn't, Elena? He just-what if it's not? This is Mystic Falls. Nothing is ever okay."

"Caroline, you mean he just—how did this…Stefan," Elena says softly, her voice quivering as the fractured words pour forth from trembling lips.

"How did he…" Alaric asks, trailing off. Caroline glances at him briefly and takes a moment to compose herself, swallowing and wiping the wetness from her eyes.

"He came downstairs and told me he was going to see you, Elena," she recounts, her breath hitching. "He wanted to tell you something. Ric, he just dropped. He fell to the floor with a grunt and then just...he's been there since you guys arrived." She wasn't able to continue because another round of sobs wracks her frame, and Elena seizes that moment to pull the sobbing vampire into an embrace. "I don't even know what happened. I just-it scared the hell out of me, and that is not okay. I mean, I get it with Damon. He had to save everyone and that's what happened, but Stefan didn't even do anything! He didn't _deserve_ this."

Some nagging notion in the back of Elena's mind prickles at Caroline's statement. She can't for the life of her understand why. The nagging notion makes itself into a still small voice and whispers, _Not to him, but to Damon._ A dark brow arches in her own surprise at the treacherous idea. Try as she might, now that she has entertained it, she can't chase it away.

"Damon didn't deserve it either, Caroline. Neither of them did. You remember Damon nearly got himself killed protecting you," Elena remarks, balling her fist and pressing it into the floor to hold back the enmity in her gut her friend's words had stirred. "He died for all of us. I mean, look, Stefan's not dead. He can't be. Damon _died_, Caroline." The last bit comes out quietly, almost an afterthought. Caroline doesn't hear any of it. She stops listening at the first mention of the elder Salvatore's name.

"You don't care that Stefan is gone, do you? You hated him, Elena. You betrayed him," she continues, the sorrow gone and replaced with a rising and misplaced anger, "When he left to save your precious boyfriend and he came back to you, you hated him. Don't talk to me about Damon." Elena recoils at the acid in Caroline's voice and a shadow falls over her features.

"Listen, Care, I get it. You're upset and sad that he's gone, but please don't turn this into a fight. I'm not here to fight about the brothers. We did that already, and it's just. It's not the time," she sighs as her shoulders slump wearily. "It's not a fight."

"But isn't it, Elena? What if you wanted—No, I don't know," Caroline stammers, shaking her blond head in a frustrated fuss. "I don't know. I don't know how to deal with this, and I don't think I can right now. I honestly do not know if I should scream or fight or hit something or blame someone. Ugh, why is it always so complicated? I miss 'not-complicated'." Elena's mind fixates on the what-if in her statement, and her brows furrow. Ric can nearly see the gears turning in the doppelganger's head as she puts two and two together, and he can definitely see the shift in her body language from relaxed to tensed.

"You think I wanted this to happen to Stefan because I couldn't have both of them? Care, how could you even think that? I never stopped loving him, you know that," Elena explains, rising to her feet. She keeps her gaze riveted on the blonde and holds her hands on her hips as she speaks, "I hated him. You know as well as I do you can feel both emotions for the same person at the same time. There's a fine line. So I hated the ripper. I hated the selfish, blood-lusting Stefan who tore my life apart, but I never stopped loving the part of him beneath all that. I would never, _ever_ wish this on anyone. I am _not_ Katherine."

Caroline opens her mouth to launch a retort, but the hunter moves before she can. Ric steps in then, reasoning he should act the part of responsible adult here, and positions himself between the two girls. "Now isn't the time to bicker over all this. I think right now we need to make sure the Travelers' spell is gone for good. Save the day now, save the drama for later, agreed?"

"Fine," Caroline grumbles.

"Okay, whatever," Elena mutters. Ric catches her eye and dips his head in a subtle nod. _It's the right thing,_ his eyes say.

**A/N: Okay yay this chapter was tough to write. I was trying to get Caroline and Elena's characters down to pat, so please tell me if I got them right? Next chapter: Damon's return which means Dalaric (oh my heart) and Defan. Delena soon! xx - Ella**

**P.s. it might be a bit early, but can anyone guess what song I'm basing the chapter titles off of? Hint hint: It's from The Script. ;)**


	3. Never to Touch and Never to Keep

**Disclaimer: Really? No, I don't. **

**A/N: First note: Stefan is NOT dead. He just dropped unconscious because of Bonnie. He isn't dead. I listed him as character and he is in the story. So Steffy's not dead, guys. Second: *gasp* Two chapters in one go. That's because I'm so happy that eep 17 people are interested in this. P.s. You can also find this story on Ao3; just look up QueenOfSpades, and that should be me. Also, I post it on tumblr. My url is elenagilbxrt. So give me a follow there for updates on this and other stories! Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Chapter Three: Never to Touch and Never to Keep**

Something loud and fast thrums in his ears, and when bright blue eyes open under a cloudless sky, he originally thinks thunder. Then he realizes the wind is whipping the trees and lightning isn't streaking across the sky as it had when he'd last opened his eyes. The weather is calm, and he is puzzled. The sound persists, and he stops dead still, alarm coursing through him as every ounce of his intelligence focuses on the one sensation he has not felt for one hundred and seventy-three years—his heart beating, as loud and fast as before he was turned.

Pushing himself up into a sitting position, he looks around, squinting up at the sun for a second. . He tenses just a tad on instinct when he realizes his ring is gone; he expects his skin to sizzle and smoke to roll off it in wisps. He expects, waits for, the burn of the sun on his undead flesh. When it doesn't come, his brows pull together in a frown. This wasn't making any sense. First, he has an actual pulse. Second, he isn't spontaneously combusting now with his daylight ring off. But then he realizes he's holding something in the other hand. He uncurls his fisted left hand to find a lock of dark silky hair, darker than the doppelganger's. The witch's, he knows it off the bat. The faint wisps of power emanating from the strands are proof of that.

He chalks his unexpected return up to Witchy's meddling and maybe this is why he finds himself lying in the woods outside the crypt, clutching a lock of her hair. _Am I human?_ He wonders. _Did Witchy somehow make some deal and leave me a helpless human being?_ His thoughts turn somber as they drift to Elena and his last memory of her. He pictures the small, weeping girl within arm's reach but worlds away shouting at him, cursing him for abandoning her and breaking his word. The heart beating in his chest twists itself so tightly he fears it'll break again as her words _"You lied to me"_ play over and over again in his head. He pulls himself to his feet and starts to make his way back, swaying slightly. His body feels heavier than it used to and considerably dizzy, and he pauses bending over with his hands on his knees, waiting until he regains his equilibrium before taking another step. When the world stops swimming before his eyes, he straightens slowly and winces as sharp pain blossoms in his chest, right below his sternum.

He looks down at himself to spot a growing splotch of red spreading from a quarter-sized hole in his breastbone. He curses under his breath, grateful that the bullet which delivered it and happened to be the cause of his death was no longer there. On the other hand, it was something else to puzzle over. Was the Travelers' spell still enacted? Right now, he only has a huge list of questions to go off of along with fragmented memories and that isn't much.

* * *

He waits for the cover of night before venturing out to see the state of things. He reasons it wouldn't be advisable if one of the Scooby gang caught sight of his newly-resurrected self in the wake of the recent chaos. _Especially Elena_, he thinks regretfully. A sliver of guilt pricks him then, and he tries to squash it, smothering it with the idea that none of it had been intentional. He hadn't intended to leave her, not after everything she and he had been through. He sucks in a breath and lets it out slowly on a sigh, closing his eyes as he exhales.

He can picture her face at the loss of her baby brother, dealing with sorrow for the first time in her immortal existence. He knew from the beginning Elena Gilbert was a fragile soul, nothing like her ancestress. Unlike the Petrova before her, Elena could not simply _deal with_ pain. She needed someone there to support her, to catch her if she fell and to pick up her broken pieces. He had vowed to take that place in her life—to never leave her. A few times, that had turned out to be a promise he couldn't keep. Like the wolf bite, or Klaus and their bloodlines. Despite that, she had come to depend on him. This was a far cry from her initial hesitance to even trust him in the early days of their relationship. Now she depended on him and _loved_ him to the point that she could not live without him.

Eventually in his walk, he finds a way into the tree he uses to climb through her window. He balances himself on one thick branch, cautious even now that he seemed to be in a more fragile state than before. He leans his back against the trunk and watches the shapes shifting in the soft glow of light emanating from the room before him. The light's dim and the curtains half-drawn, but he catches a glimpse of her, Elena, sitting on the edge of her bed. She doesn't look much different from when last he'd laid eyes on her, save for the fact that her hair is twisted back into a simple updo with a few pieces falling out of place. She reaches out and wraps a blanket around herself. As her body shifts during the movement, he catches a glimpse of something around her neck. It glints in the light, and he swears that his heart stops beating in that moment. It's his ring that he sees hanging from a chain about her neck.

As if on cue, she tilts her head down to gaze at it and reaching up, lifts the chain off her neck to hold it in the palm of her hand. Her fingers trace the contours of the ring; when she lifts her gaze out toward the night (unbeknownst to her, out to him), the light in her eyes—the Petrova fire in her is gone. He knows she is stronger than that, yet even as the thought crosses his mind, the sight of her now so defeated and small is almost incongruous to the Elena he remembers.

Someone else enters outside of his view because Elena turns her head, and almost instantly a mastered façade slips onto her features, a small smile skillfully hiding the defeat from moments before. He tries, he desperately tries, to ignore the ache in his heart when he recognizes the history teacher turned vampire hunter. Alaric gently takes Elena into his arms. Elena's arms are wrapped around herself despite it, and her eyes are closed.

Damon is painfully reminded of when _he_ held her like that. Only she had been the epitome of peaceful then, her beautiful eyes hidden beneath closed lids and her pretty little head lolling on his chest. He remembers that particular night vividly.

_Elena had insisted she couldn't sleep a wink; He told her neither could he as they were both exhausting themselves over finding an awol Stefan. Nonetheless, he'd allowed her to stay at least until she fell asleep. Then, she'd crawled onto the bed next to him. Suspicious just a bit that she would take it the wrong way, he carefully kept his hands to himself, eyeing her beneath a dubiously arched brow. She all on her own snuggled up against him, curling herself up practically in his lap. Her head rested comfortably on his chest until she lifted up slightly five minutes later, puzzled. "I thought you…" she began, not sure how to phrase her question. _

_"Didn't have a heartbeat? Common misconception, princess. I do, it's just a bit slower and you probably can't feel it."  
"Unless I've got my ear right up against it," she finished with a short laugh._

_"Weird to imagine that, huh?" he asked, always able to see right through her. "Undead but not really dead. That's the supernatural, Elena; it's a lot of not really."_

_"Not really," she mumbles to his first question and lays back down, "I mean it's not really weird. I like the sound. It's soothing." _Imagine the sound of yours, _he'd thought then. Hers was like thunder, and the blood in her veins sang almost as loudly. _

When he looks back to the window, she is gone. Instead, Alaric stands in her place by the window, his sharp eyes peering out into the night. Damon ducks away from the hunter's watchful eyes and jumps from the tree, disappearing into the night from which he came.

The doppelganger looks as if she's seen a ghost. The man beside her is fairly sure of himself that she did. He peers out her bedroom window, searching the darkness outside for any further sign—he'd seen it too. Leaves rustle, an odd sound to him on a windless night. He glances briefly at her, wondering for a split second if she heard it too. Then he remembers that she is no longer a creature of the night and lets out a sigh.

"It wasn't him, was it? I just thought I saw something," she remarks, stepping out from behind him. He nods once, letting his green-eyed gaze linger on the window for a moment longer before turning to leave.

"It couldn't have been, Elena. Jeremy can see them, but we can't."

"Bonnie could see them, too." They fall into silence when she mentions the late witch. He reaches out and lays a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. He doesn't say it, and neither does she, but the silent tearful nod she gives him says enough. "How is he? Stefan, I mean." She doesn't look at him as the question leaves her lips, but instead returns her attention to the vervain locket in her hands.

"He's still in a coma. Caroline has tried giving him blood, but no response. I suggested we siphon some blood into his system and see if that does anything; Meredith is on that as we speak. He'll be alright, Elena," Alaric reassures her, laying a hand on her shoulder. "He has to be. Good night, Elena. Might as well try to get some sleep," he says softly as he exits her bedroom. She curls up on the bed and reaches up to turn out the light.

"Night, Ric." She flicks the light off, shrouding the room in darkness and lets sleep take her.

**A/N: Secondly: Oops I lied. Sorry, okay pretty sure there's Dalaric in the next chapter. But yeah I explained that Stef's not dead. It's to do with magic. That's all I will say. You can leave your theories in the comments, if you like?**

**Bit of a filler chapter here; now that this out of the way, I can get to real interesting stuff. DE reunion in the next two chapters possibly? Love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review! xx**


	4. I Hear The Angels Talking

**A/N: I am the most terrible updater ever, and that is why I lump two or three chapters in each posting. I am so incredibly happy you guys are sticking with me! Please, please, please give me some constructive criticism. I would love to know how I'm doing. I'm iffy about this chapter because Damon was in a huff and he was giving me a hard time.**

**P.s. To everyone who's wondering, Stefan is alive. He just got knocked out and was in a bit of a coma. But he's alive and well. **

**Chapter Four: **I Hear The Angels Talking

Damon could almost laugh at the irony of the situation; he really thinks he could. The last time he'd visited this place, it had been the history teacher lying there in the ground and he himself drinking away another sleepless night by Ric's grave. Here his again, sitting on some defaced headstone and looking on an empty grave.

"I got the girl, Ric," he mutters to the headstone. "And lost her. Again." About now, he would have emptied a tumbler of Ric's scotch into the soil. Only now, he found himself without both Ric and any such liquor to pay respects—which was to him, a depressing notion.

"Lost her or blew her up?"

"I know, I know. When I finally get the girl, I shouldn't blow her up."

Leaves crunch underfoot as Alaric picks his way through the grave plots until he comes to a stop over his own. "That's a first," he remarks with a wry smile.

"This coming from a man who won't stay dead? _Please_." Ric sits down with his back leaning against his headstone and opens the satchel at his waist to remove a bottle of bourbon, which he sets down beside him.

"Ah, nope," he says to Damon's arched brow. "Dude, drinking to myself? Like hell. Was on my way to the crypt, actually." He bites the cork and pops it off with his teeth before tilting his head back to take a swig. He winces at the burn of the liquid sliding down his throat and passes it to Damon. "That place is cursed."

"The whole damn town is," Damon grunts before taking a long pull from the bottle. "Speaking of. How the hell did I just wake up back here? Is Witchy to blame?" Ric hangs his head, his shoulder muscles flexing as he takes in a slow breath and releases it.

"How along ago did you…just wake up?"

"Two days ago. That's significant because—?"

"Stefan collapsed in an unconscious heap two days ago, and Caroline rang Elena early that morning. I left him with Meredith, and she's siphoning some blood into his system, but right now he's pretty much in a comatose state," Ric informs him. "There was no physical harm to him; he just…Both the girls are a wreck, of course; suffice it to say, it's rattled them."

Damon's brows are pulled together in a frown as he listens to the other man, and once Ric finishes, he lets out a groan.

"Witchy," he raises his voice, glancing upwards as if the witch in question were somewhere there, "meddling again. How is Elena with…all of this? Is she okay?"

Alaric takes another pull from the bottle of liquor before answering. "She's adapting. She sleeps in your bed, at least that's where I find her when I wake her. She hardly comes out of the bedroom, but when she does, she's—well, she's a shadow of the Elena we all used to know."

Damon remains quiet, thoughtful even as he takes this information in. "That Elena died when that hybrid dick nearly killed her." He contemplates saying the rest of what was on his mind, but decides against it. He'd be venturing into the broodiness that stood as his brother's defining character trait.

"You know what I mean." Ric opens his mouth to say more, but his phone vibrates loudly against his leg. "Hold on, gotta take this." He sets the bottle down, pulls the phone out of his pocket and answers. "Hello? Elena? Elena, what time is it?" There is a pause, then, "He what? I'll be right there."

"What is it?" he asks.

"Stefan's awake. I'm heading over to the hospital to pick him up." To Damon's askance look, "Come at your own risk. One shock is enough for one night," the hunter remarks with a chuckle. As Ric leaves, Damon hangs back and grapples with the decision placed before him: return and make good on his promise to Elena and potentially give her an unnecessary heartattack in the process, or let her believe he truly has failed her and broken his promise.

He refuses the second option at its very conception. At the same time, he tries to think of what it would do to her—suddenly stepping back into her life after she's made a good enough attempt to as Ric said 'adapt'. How would she react? He thinks she's like to slap him. If he's lucky, that'll be the worst of it. He counts it to his advantage that seeing her this soon would be easier for the both of them rather than months down the line when his arrival would reopen old wounds.

Reassuring his decision with these thoughts, Damon runs after the hunter. He can hear the leaves crunching under Ric's feet and calls out in hopes of catching the man before he leaves. "RIC! Ric, wait up, damnit."

The man spins on his heel, throwing Damon a surprised glance. "Vampire asking a human to wait up? Did I hear right?" Ric's voice is teasing, and it rankles him.

"Bonnie's fault. Not a vampire anymore. I'm coming with," Damon grunts. The hunter offers no objection, and instead shrugs his shoulders.

"Fine with me. Let's hope she doesn't stake you on sight," Ric mumbles as they head out of the cemetery.

* * *

Elena is sitting by the younger Salvatore's bedside when a nurse approaches her and informs her of visitors. She nods and waves the young woman away with permission to let them in. The doppelganger remains by his side, reaching out to fold her hands over his. She watches the rise and fall of Stefan's chest and listens to the slow, faint beating of his heart on the monitor nearby. Leaning over, she presses a soft kiss to his forehead. Her tresses spill over him, her curls tickling the edge of his jaw. It's then that she feels his cool hand squeeze hers and he turns his head to the side, towards her. Lifting up, Elena sits back and watches Stefan with an alert expression, her brows slightly raised.

He opens his own eyes slowly, blinking one or two times. Even the tiny effort feels too much for his weakened form, but he fights to keep his eyes open.

"Elena," he rasps, resting his jade gaze on her for a tiring moment before looking up at his surroundings. "Where am I?"

"Stefan. Stefan, you—," she can't help the smile that breaks onto her lips to see him awake (the second time now since she's called Ric) and alive. She blinks back happy tears. "You're in the hospital. Meredith's taken charge and she's taking care of you." She runs her thumb along the back of his hand in a soothing gesture and watches him for a moment longer, her heart whispering a quiet prayer of thanks.

She pats the back of his hand and moves as if to get up when there's a soft rap of knuckles hitting the open door. She turns and rests her gaze on the source of the sound to find Alaric waiting in the doorway. The hunter offers her a small smile, though she notes a moment of hesitation in him that precedes a glance down the hallway before he actually steps into the room.

"Hey," he greets her, simply as he makes his way in and lets the door fall closed behind him. "So he's awake then?" Elena nods to this as she stands with a lingering glance to Stefan, who'd slipped back into sleep. She watches the slow rise and fall of his chest and the peaceful appearance of his face, unmarred by lines of worry or the broody creased brow his brother always teased about.

For a scary moment, the sight of him like this triggers flashbacks to the memories of Stefan in the quarry, locked in the safe and drowning over and over again. Something cold and gnawing grips her heart at the thought, and all of a sudden she can't breathe. Her chest is constricted, and it is pain to try and take a breath. Gasps leave her lips, and before she knows it, she's trembling. Her heart is hammering against her breastbone, and the blood is practically roaring in her ears. She's trembling, shaking, and that's all she knows. Then, Alaric's voice is at her ear and his arms are steadying her. It brings her clarity and stops the tremors, but the lingering pain in her chest still remains.

Worse, it reminds her that though one brother has returned to her, she's still lost the other. A tear slips down her cheek. "He's awake and alive," she mumbles numbly. The words burn on her lips. To her, speaking them drives a figurative nail into Damon's coffin and might as well have driven one into her own heart. She _wants_ to be happy that it isn't nearly as worse as they thought, yet (here she wonders if it makes her more like Katherine) she wants to be happy because she has the both of them. Not the one without the other. She disengages herself from Alaric's hold and takes a seat beside Stefan, lost in her thoughts.

Alaric regards her with a distance glint in his eyes, and the weight of his own knowledge seems for the moment, too heavy to bear. He knows her, and he knows what all of this is doing to her. He isn't psychic, but he could bet his life that he knew the thoughts running through her head moments ago. It nearly tears him apart because he's left it completely to Damon, left it to him to show her life isn't so bleak anymore. It breaks him because it's Alaric who's been there for her and her brother and he can't (just now) be there for her. It isn't his place, but also because (Damon doesn't know this, he thinks.) it could snap her like a twig. He of all people knows just how fragile human souls are. He knows how easily they fracture, break, and shatter like glass. He does not, above all things, want that to happen to Elena. For all they know, it could land her in a psych ward; she could scream, cry, deny it all until it drives her to a point of madness none of them can pull her back from. That scares him, not just for his sake but for hers.

He breaks away from his thoughts to look over his shoulder at the window to the hallway outside. Damon is standing there, and the somber look on Alaric's face is all that need be said. The hunter lifts a hand, holding up a finger. He turns back toward Elena.

"I can take you home," he remarks softly. "If you want." Another silent nod from her before she rises slowly and follows him as they leave. Ric throws a quick glance to the window again, breathing a sigh of relief when he finds Damon nowhere to be seen. He pulls the door open, guides Elena through and follows quickly behind. He leads her out of the hospital, and as she is walking through the front doors, he casts one more glance behind.

Damon pauses, Alaric dips his head in a nod. Elena asks if Ric is still coming, and to answer her, the hunter turns back toward her. He delivers a quick, mumbled response, giving her a gentle push out the door. When he turns around, the other man is gone.

* * *

"Gave me a scare for a moment, brother," says the older Salvatore as he sits where Elena sat not long ago. "Suffice it to say, the world—that is, all of our mismatched Scooby gang would probably be a wreck. Don't," he draws out the word, "do it again." A short chuckle follows that, before several seconds of silence that leave Damon wondering if his brother even heard that.

"Wasn't…my fault," comes a raspy voice from the hospital bed. Damon snaps to attention, his eyes wide as he searches his brother's face. He catches the flutter of Stefan's eyelids, the way he turns his head and groans fitfully. The younger Salvatore opens his eyes slowly to meet the intensity of his older brother's blue ones. Somewhat startled, Stefan pushes himself further back and positions himself leaning on one elbow. "It wasn't my fault, Damon," he says softly.

"Ric thinks BonBon meddled with something she shouldn't have," Damon says in reply, furrowing his brows. "Do you remember what happened to you? And don't go all amnesiac!Stefan on me."

Now it's Stefan's turn to frown. "Bits and pieces. I was going to see Elena, and Caroline was buzzing in my ear about some dance tomorrow night—no, a gala." He waves away the insignificant information and continues, "She was tittering about that, and then everything went black."

"…began every poorly written horror novel. Think harder, Stef. You didn't just poof here like I did, surely?"

"Still as snarky as ever, Damon. Glad to see that hasn't faded," Stefan remarks dryly. "I honestly don't remember much besides a glimpse of Bonnie, and this—" He pauses here and rotates his hand in a vague circle as he searches for the right word, "tight feeling in my chest. Then, I woke up here." Silence falls between them as one rifles through his memories for some sort of explanation and the other sits the epitome of dazed and confused. "So it was magic then?"

"That's what I'm going with. What sort, I don't know. Whatever it is, I'm human."

"So is Elena." To that, Stefan quickly adds, "Her heartbeat. When she was with me earlier, her heartbeat was the normal rate of a human heart, not a vampire's." Damon's eyes widen at this. He had begun to resent his end of the deal, thinking of it as the short end of the stick. Now, if Stefan's words were true and anything to be believed, then this is the best thing he's heard since Stefan's return. He sits there, stunned for a moment at the sheer realization that Elena—their Elena, _his_ Elena—is human.

**A/N: Okay okay wait.**

**1.) This is my first attempt at Defan. I've never written them before, and ahhh I'm intimidated because did I get them right? I'm super super shy about this because it's unknown territory for me. 2.) I hardly ever write Damon in this sort of role, so forgive me if I don't quite get him down to pat. He's been very difficult with me lately and it's driving me mad. 3.) I don't ship Elaric. Not romantically, and don't ask me why. Alaric is just supposed to be a protective, fatherly figure to Elena right now. He's kind of there to keep her steady and make sure she doesn't fall apart. That's usually what Damon does, but he isn't in the picture yet so. The only romantic ships here in this fic are Delena and Steroline. **

**You didn't really think I'd take both Salvatores from our lovely Elena, right? Psht of course not. There wouldn't be a show without them, I think. By the way, I'm sorry this seems rushed. I've been antsy to get to the DE reunion bit and I have honestly been waiting to get to this part. It's the whole reason I wrote the story hah. Anyway, yay, Stefan is back in business and Damon is about to meet Elena. Lots of DE coming up next. **

**By the way, how should I write in their meeting? A.) Elena finds Damon talking to Stefan and has some sort of psychological break because she's unstable after temporarily losing Stefan and Damon? B.) Elena goes down to Ric's crypt and finds Damon there or C.) Damon knocks at Elena's window, and the living daylights are scared out of her because why the hell is he here? Or something else entirely?**

**To those of you who read this absurdly long author's note, thank you and seven blessings to all of you! Please, be kind and leave a review. It is life to me, really, and the more reviews, the more chapters I'll upload this next week. - Ella**


	5. The Reason That I'm Alive

**A/N: kenlieargyle thank you so much for the kind words. 3 It's people like you who keep me inspired and it makes me beyond happy to know that it's doing you good. C: (Plus it's like my first legit multichapter DE fic, so thank you eee) **

**CoraEllen, thank you again for that! I'll be uploading that little oneshot soon. 3**

** Dearest reviewers + followers + favorite-ers, I love you. 3 Looks like the public wants option #B, Elena going down to Ric's crypt and chancing upon Damon there. This chapter was hard ugh. I actually let it sit for like three days before I got an idea at 2am and bam, here it is. **

** So, what did you guys think of Stefan? I'm thinking about writing some Steroline later on, but we'll see where the story takes us. Should I have some more scenes with Bonnie or no? Gah okay this chapter is a little…sadder because it just is. I promise you, there is Delena in this one. Reunion and a lot sweeter things later. ;) Let me know, because honestly, it makes my day and helps my inspiration! **

**Chapter Five: The Reason That I'm Alive**

She's fairly quiet on the drive home; he doesn't try to make any conversation. Her body language is enough to say she isn't in the mood. She's strapped in by a seatbelt and leaning her head against the passenger side door. Her hand supports her chin as she gazes out the window at the scenery flying by, the only sign of movement being the small rise and fall of her shoulders as she breathes. She remains like that until they pull into the driveway, and she only mumbles a quiet "Thanks" before letting herself out and heading inside the large, empty mansion. She leaves the door open, since she can still hear the hunter locking up the car.

As she steps inside, her eyes take in the area around her. The mansion feels lonely now, cold and empty; she shivers on instinct and rubs her arms to get rid of the goose bumps. Unbidden, a memory resurfaces of the first time she remembers meeting Damon (not counting the time he'd compelled her to forget). She turns around, half expecting a noisy crow to flap its way inside, half expecting to turn and come face to face with him. Of course, she doesn't and this time welcomes the inevitable ache in her heart that soon follows. She is used to it, now. Taking in a quiet breath, she releases it slowly on a sigh and ascends the staircase, letting her hand trail along the railing.

As she turns around the corner to go back to her room, Ric catches sight of her just then. He ask if she's okay, and she remains quiet for a moment too long. _How do I define okay? Am I okay?_ she asks herself. The beating thing in her chest she can hardly call a heart anymore tells her otherwise. She pauses, turns back toward the stairs and leans over the banister to call down to him,

"Rain check on that. I think I'll take a walk." She jogs back down the stairs and passes him by without waiting for a response.

"Okay?" he mumbles as she dashes out the door.

* * *

She's picking her way around old headstones and even older gravemarkers as she makes her way through the cemetery. She wonders if it's only the grey weather or her life experience that causes the place to reek with the stench of death. She walks past her family plot and lingers for a moment, crouching down to gaze at her own headstone and those of her parents'. _So much death, _she thinks to herself, laying a hand on dilapidated gravestone to push herself back up on her feet. _The place really does reek of it. _She continues on her way, searching with her gaze until she finds Ric's crypt.

Sliding a hand into her pocket, she retrieves the key (she's always kept it since the incident with the Other Side) and turns it in the lock. When the lock mechanism clicks, she pulls the creaky rusted door open and walks inside. The dusty place smells of burnt out candles and feels quite stuffy. She coughs once or twice and waves away the dust floating in front of her face.

"It gets tiresome after a century or two." She jumps nearly a foot in the air, and slams her back against the nearest wall, pressing herself flat against it as she looks around in surprise. She can see nothing at first; no one outside, no one within her line of sight. "That is, you start to get tired after long enough." She hears it again, and this time she is really listening. The initial kick-in of adrenaline is rushing through her veins and for the moment, her senses are heightened if only that much. She lets her eyes slip closed and shakes her head, laying a hand on her heart as if to slow its rapid beating. She continues shaking her head and keeps her eyes shut to shut out the tears threatening to form.

"No, this—no, I can't—" she begins to form fractured words, her voice heavy with unshed tears. Her legs suddenly turn to jello and she's already on the way down when strong arms stop her fall. Her eyes are still closed; she's unable to fight the tears and lets them roll unhindered down her face as he lifts her back on her feet. He's pulling her close—slowly at first, drawing her close to him and positioning her head in the crook of his shoulder. His arms wrap around her, and he rubs her back gently even as he can feel her shaking against him. "I—I need this to be real," she mumbles into his shoulder between sobs. She twines her arms around him and buries her face in his neck. She leans against him and for the first time in a long time stops trying to be strong.

"Shh. It is, baby," he whispers, still supporting her. He reaches up to stroke the back of her head as she weeps. "It's as real as it's gonna get." Her arms tighten around him, and as she lifts her head to rest her chin on his shoulder, she whispers,

"Don't do that again. I don't care if you can't promise that." She pauses, taking in a breath and releasing it slowly, "Just promise me anyway." He pulls away slightly to lower his head to hers and presses his forehead against hers. They stand there in silence for several heartbeats before he cups her face in his hands and strokes the side of her face with his thumb.

"Elena Gilbert, I am a man of my word," he says with a small smile. "I kept my last promise, didn't I?" Her lips begin to form a smile when those words pull up old unwanted memories—memories that drop the smile from her face to replace it with a sad distance. Her gaze drops to the ground, and she says nothing to that, but lowers her head to lay it on his chest.

"I thought you were gone, Damon," she mumbles against his chest. "I was sad at first, then angry—at you, at myself at everything. I know you swore you'd make it back, but then Stefan…it was too much. I doubted you. I'm sorry; I'm so sorry." The last bit comes out little more than a whisper. He shifts his weight to his other foot and rests his chin atop her head.

"This doesn't exactly happen every day, 'Lena," he says in response, "God knows, I wasn't expecting it. We couldn't have known." Then, a pause. "I see you kept my ring." She starts, then, jerking out of his embrace.

"Don't you need it? You'll burn." Her eyes are wide with alarm; she looks over him worriedly. He shakes his head, lifting a hand to hold it out in the fading sunlight. To her surprise, the skin doesn't begin to smoke or blister or anything. Her brows pull together. "But how?"

**A/N: Delena! Finally, right? 1.) Elena doesn't/didn't know that Damon was human until now. I got the idea because of this post on tumblr that pointed out how when they died as vampires, they came back human? I loved that idea, so there it is. 2.) I actually had to re-write this because it makes more sense this way. They wouldn't just kiss like that after all that, you know? Grr as much as I want it to happen. 3.) Okay I am so sorry this chapter started out all doom and gloom. I realized until now I had been zipping through the story and had no real time passing between the events. So I slowed it down a little and let things take their course. I had to find a realistic way to transition and slow down the pace a little bit of what's been going on. But now we can pick up speed again because look! Damon is back in Elena's arms and all is right with the world. Or is it? **

**Also, this is a little shorter than the other chapters (sorry! I had to help my mother with some yard work) but I will make up with another chapter later today (that, I promise you) Now, more Steroline do you think? More Bonnie? Any ideas for future chapters, shoot them my way. Mwah! Remember, ****more reviews = faster updates + more chapters****. – Ella**

**(p.s. The chapter title's from Don't Deserve You – Plumb. That song killed me while writing this and I just.)**


	6. We'll Both Go Missing

**Disclaimer because I've been forgetting: Nope, don't own. If I did, there'd be a lot more shirtless Damon. ;)**

**A/N: IHeartToothless - ahh this makes me so happy, thank you so much! Jeremy Shane - Meep thank you, there is more coming, definitely. :) **

**Dearest, dearest readers - Thank you again so much for sticking with me! I never imagined this would take off like it did! (Wow, 2,573views, 30 follows and 19 favorites) Seriously, you've no idea how amazing you guys are, really. Love ya. I'm sorry in advance for the short update (it's almost midnight here and I should be sleeping meh) More to come hopefully! Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Chapter 6: We'll Both Go Missing**

_Previously_

_"__I thought you were gone, Damon," she mumbles against his chest. "I was sad at first, then angry—at you, at myself at everything. I know you swore you'd make it back, but then Stefan…it was too much. I doubted you. I'm sorry; I'm so sorry." The last bit comes out little more than a whisper. He shifts his weight to his other foot and rests his chin atop her head._

_"__This doesn't exactly happen every day, 'Lena," he says in response, "God knows, I wasn't expecting it. We couldn't have known." Then, a pause. "I see you kept my ring." She starts, then, jerking out of his embrace._

_"__Don't you need it? You'll burn." Her eyes are wide with alarm; she looks over him worriedly. He shakes his head, lifting a hand to hold it out in the fading sunlight. To her surprise, the skin doesn't begin to smoke or blister or anything. Her brows pull together. "But how?" _

"You remember the way the Travellers' spell works? Lockwood bit it first as a vampire, then a werewolf, then his normal jock self. I'm _presuming_," here he draws out the word, "that's what it did for us. We were already dying as our vampire selves when I set off the explosion. I can only reason we're both human now."

Her eyes widen slightly as the full realization of that hits her. "So, we're human. Fragile, mortal humans. I remember when there was nothing more I wanted than to be back to this, to have this." She waves her hand vaguely in the air as she speaks, "To live out my life."

_I wanted that for you, _Damon thinks to himself, _Stefan took that choice away from you. _She continues, "But I've heard it said that once you've got a taste of something, sometimes it leaves you wanting more…and I've had a taste of immortality." He has a suspicious feeling he knows where this is going, and he doesn't like it.

"Elena, don't," he starts. "We don't even know if it'll work now, and with the Travellers' spell still in effect, if you did turn, you couldn't stay here. You know that, right?"

"No, Damon, you're missing the point. What if we found a loophole or managed to stop the spell? What I'm trying to say is that I don't want a finite mortal life if it means one of us will die. I don't want to be the one left behind," she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

He's watching her carefully because he _knows_ her just as well as she knows him. He reaches for her hand and takes it in his, slowly pulling her towards him. He turns her about in his arm so her back is against his chest and wraps her hands in his.

"Think about what you're saying, Elena," he murmurs into her ear, "This life—neither of us had a choice before it was forced on us. You have it now. Just know that if you ever die again and I won't be able to see your beautiful face, I can't bear that." He buries his nose in her air and closes his eyes, inhaling the familiar scent of her. She remains in his arms, but shifts slightly to lay her head on his shoulder. She can feel the soothing rhythm of his heart beating beneath her ear and the soft thrum of it is all she can hear. She's closed her eyes to focus on it more easily; so it startles her when he nudges her. "Earth to Elena."

Her lips quirk in a small smile, but her eyes remain closed. "I'm here, just…resting." Then, a thought occurs to her. The human heart residing in her skips a beat. "Damon?"

"Elena?" He copies her tone.

"What if we didn't?" She turns toward him, tilting her head back to look up at him. "What if we didn't stay?"

**A/N: Dun dun DUN! Cliffhanger :p Okay I owe you guys like a bajillion chapters aahh, thanks so much for staying with me and this story. 3 **

**My dearest readers, I have yet another question of opinion to put to you. Both Elena and Damon are human now. Elena wants to spend the rest of an immortal existence with Damon, and Damon wants Elena to live that fulfilled life she has always wanted in the past. Question is, should I k****_eep them human_**** or ****_find a way to make them vampires again_****?**

**I can write both options, although I can't decide which. So the directly next chapter will be the beginning of the chosen option (i.e Tell me which way to take it, and I'll take it that way.) After all, I do write for your guys' pleasure. :) **

**(p.s. This chapter was based off Glowing by The Script. I love love those guys, and the song kind of fit. You should totes go check them out ey.)**

**(p.p.s I'm thinking maybe I'll cap this story off at 10-15 chapters. It's the longest I've ever written in the history of my own writing aha)**


	7. For The First Time

**A/N: Psst is everyone still here? Yes? I'm back and writing again because yay back from vacation. I hope you all liked that little alternate scene, So Beautifully, Delicately Human. Here's the next chapter; my muse decided on another introspective, so here we go. As for the human or vampire decision—I think I'll have them be human for a short while, and then vampires again perhaps in the next few chapters. I'm trying to pace it as the show would, after all. Note: I'm not trying to bash Stefan, so Stefan fans, please know this. **

**Next chapter, we get back to Stefan. I just saw 5x05 and have a lot of Steroline feels so I think that will flow pretty easily. But do you guys think Steroline or Stebekah? Because I kind of also want to write that but I don't know. Also should I bring in some more scenes with Bonnie or Alaric?**

**P.s I am so terrible sorry this took me a while to upload. I was searching for it and then temporarily lost the inspiration for this, but I have it once more!**

**Chapter 7: For The First Time**

_She can feel the soothing rhythm of his heart beating beneath her ear and the soft thrum of it is all she can hear. She's closed her eyes to focus on it more easily; so it startles her when he nudges her. "Earth to Elena."_

_Her lips quirk in a small smile, but her eyes remain closed. "I'm here, just…resting." Then, a thought occurs to her. The human heart residing in her skips a beat. "Damon?"_

_ "__Elena?" He copies her tone. _

_ "__What if we didn't?" She turns toward him, tilting her head back to look up at him. "What if we didn't stay?" _

Once the words fall from her lips, he remembers a time not long ago when _he_'d been the one urging her to embrace the beauty of a timeless life, to revel in the sheer power at her fingertips and accept it as her life. He remembers when he had showed her just how good it was and how it wasn't so bad as she'd thought. He remembers when he'd taught her how to survive. That had been a different time, though. And time always, always changed in Mystic Falls, more often for the worst than the better.

He meets her gaze now and his heart twinges at the faint gleam of hope in her dark, dark eyes. It's one of her defining character traits, he'd like to think. That faint, but at the same time deep-rooted hope. She'd had that when they all first heard of a cure for vampirism, and he'd seen it. Try as he could, he hadn't been able to protect her from the misery the supernatural life had forced on her; however, at the first knowledge of a cure, he'd sworn to himself to do everything in his own power to lessen her misery. God knows, he did.

Only now, now that he and she have their humanity (him thanking his lucky stars because God knows how long he's missed this; she wanting nothing more than to be free of it), all he wants is for her to hold on to it. Maybe he wants to spend the long years with her. Maybe he wants to be beside her when they finally get sleep that's been long overdue. He knows one thing for sure—he wouldn't force the choice on her as his brother had.

"You'd drop everything and leave?" He keeps his voice soft and low, as if speaking any louder would break the quiet of the place. "Your brother?" _Mine?_ He thinks to himself. He's not even sure Stefan would really care, given how easily the amnesiac vampire had been to up and leave. Nonetheless, he does wonder how easily she can entertain the idea of putting the latter in the rearview mirror.

"He isn't a lost little boy anymore, Damon," she answers just as softly. She blinks once and her long dark lashes flutter as her eyelids close for a second. "I'll tell him; we've been through just enough that I think he'd understand. Stefan…" She sucks in a breath and lets it out slowly as she combs her fingers through her hair. "He has Caroline. It's better that he doesn't remember any of what happened. He already knows about, you know, us, but that's the extent."

"Give it a week, Elena. Sit on it for a week and if you still want to turn by the end of it, then we'll find a way. Until then, just take a deep breath and _live_. Actually live for the first time. Promise me that?"

She pauses for a moment. He can see the wheels turning in her pretty little head and the human heart within him flutters. Then, she nods, slowly at first. He breathes a quiet sigh of relief, glad that she hadn't leapt completely headfirst into all of this. "A week from now."

**A/N: So I've given them a week. Anyhow, I like the idea of Elena experiences humanity for a week and then deciding if she wants to be a vampire again. What do you guys think?**

**Also Stefan is still sort of amnesiac!Stefan. Sorry, meant to clarify that. Delena is set after 5x22, but Stefan still is in the dark about a lot of stuff. I want to take the story that way, and it leaves the door open for Steroline too. Now, do tell me. What did you think of this chapter? Please, darlings, leave me a review and expect more chapters soon! **


	8. History Repeating

**A/N: Sorry, I suck at fluff. Ugh, angst is more my thing but eh. I'm so sorry this took forever, but here's the next chapter. Yes, I gave Elena a week but she decided in three days. Okay so I think this is a filler chapter for the next one when they'll be back as vampire!Delena. Of course if you would like me to continue? I need to know if I'm rushing things or not. Should I write more of Elena contemplating her decision or just dive into the whole vampire thing? I couldn't find any other way except bring an Original back in town, so I'm kind of iffy?**

The week passes more slowly than she expects. She watches each dawn and each sunset, admiring the warm glow cast by the sun as it peaks above and below the horizon each day. The first day, she wakes up in her bed—their bed—and she's well aware he's there too. Her head is nestled against his chest and he's got an arm wrapped protectively around her frame. She notes the beats of his heart beneath her ear and sets herself to memorizing them. It lulls her, listening to the soft sound just beneath her. The sound itself is soothing, and to be honest, she doesn't think she's ever heard it. Not his, at least.

* * *

The second night she spends in the oversized mansion he calls a home. They're lying on the couch as they had not long ago when Silas gave them a rude awakening. This time—she's able to close her eyes, take in a breath and let it out slowly. There isn't a weight on her chest anymore, and for once she has no worries about what may come tomorrow. His hand reaches up to gently stroke her silky tresses, momentarily distracting her from her thoughts. It's then that she remembers if she says, 'No', she is saying 'No' to them and 'Yes' to a life ending in sadness for one or both of them.

"You thinking about it?"

"What else is there to think about?" she counters. "The more I do, the less objections I find to it. I mean, there's no downside." There's a pause during which he leans down to rest his chin atop her head.

"Think about it without factoring the 'us' into it. You're always going to have that, to have 'us', Elena," he whispers. _Not always,_ she thinks morosely.

* * *

The third day brings news of another Original back in town. Jeremy gets it from Matt; the bartender recounts seeing the pretty blond traipsing into his bar and smiling at him with her crystal cut eyes. Jeremy grumbles something about endless trouble in this town but nonetheless passes the news on to his sister.

The excitement she expresses, Damon thinks, is nearly and believable uncharacteristic of her—given her history with Rebekah Mikaelson.

"Damon, look. She can turn us. Or she could turn you, and you can turn me. Simple as that!" she pipes. He's still more suspicious of Barbie Klaus' return than he is willing to trust her claims of honest intentions. He sure as hell isn't about to let her bring the halcyon state of their lives to chaos.

"Elena, it's Rebekah. Original Barbie Klaus. As in murderous 1,000 year old brat with daddy issues. We can't trust her," he almost growls. She's watching him through their exchange and as the last words leave his lips, her eyes narrow.

"_You_ slept with _her_, Damon. Right in the middle of our take-down operation, you slept with the enemy and here you are telling _me_ we can't trust her?"

His face falls, and she not for the first time regrets words she's spat out too hastily. "The way I remember it, you happened to be the catalyst for that chain of events," he says quietly. "When you left me in the dark with your take-down operation." She sucks in a breath and tries to think of a way to diffuse the situation.

"Point taken," she sighs. "Let's not fight about this, not her. If not her, then who? Stefan?" A cold shiver slides down his spine, and he shakes his head. Definitely no. He wouldn't let that bit of history repeat itself.

"No, no, Barbie it is."

**A/N: Guys, thoughts? Next chapter will be posted with a week if you lovely people leave some reviews. 3 **


	9. In This Twilight

**A/N: You all probably hate me now (sorry sorry sorry, blame Guardians of the Galaxy! I've been caught up in the hurricane that is Peter and Gamora and I just. It's been terrible for my TVD muse. Anyhow, I've finally gotten back on track, so. **

**Previously**

"You_ slept with _her,_ Damon. Right in the middle of our take-down operation, you slept with the enemy and here you are telling _me_ we can't trust her?"_

_His face falls, and she not for the first time regrets words she's spat out too hastily. "The way I remember it, you happened to be the catalyst for that chain of events," he says quietly. "When you left me in the dark with your take-down operation." She sucks in a breath and tries to think of a way to diffuse the situation._

_Point taken," she sighs. "Let's not fight about this, not her. If not her, then who? Stefan?" A cold shiver slides down his spine, and he shakes his head. Definitely no. He wouldn't let that bit of history repeat itself._

_"No, no, Barbie it is."_

* * *

To be quite honest, the blonde's face is a study in surprise when they approach her. In other words, her jaw drops and her brows arch even as the question leaves her lips.

"Wait, what?"

Elena glances at her boyfriend for help, but he only shrugs and steps back to practically push her into a situation he would prefer to avoid. "Caroline. Hi. I, uh, well," she stammers, then backpedals, then starts again, "Like Damon said, we're human now.-"

"How? I'd like to know," Caroline cuts in with a thoroughly puzzled expression. She's still sitting beside Stefan's bed where they have found her. Stefan himself is lying on the bed, comfortably asleep and unaware. Elena lets her gaze rest on him for a little while longer before continuing.

"We think it's something to do with the Travellers' spell," Elena says, rolling her shoulders as she slides her gaze back toward Stefan. "When Tyler died, he died first as a werewolf, then a vampire, then a human."

"When Markos enacted the spell, I already felt the effects of the gunshot wound that ended my life and Elena began to cough up water as if she were drowning," Damon finishes.

"He and I were in the car that set off that explosion at the Grill, and we obviously died," Elena continues, "Thus our theory." She judges from Caroline's incredulous frown that the blonde doesn't buy it. Caroline rises from her seat and crosses the short distance between them, watching Elena for a moment before averting her gaze. (She's thinking now.)"Damon just said he was dying as a vampire when Markos enacted the spell. If he were human, he'd have died as a human in the crash, isn't that right?" says Caroline, leaning back on a heel as her gaze shifts between the two of them. "You'd both have been human, and you'd both have been dead. As in really dead, not just-kidding-we're-actually-not dead." Now it's Elena's turn to be puzzled; she turns on a heel and looks at Damon with a slightly raised brow. "If it wasn't the spell, then what was it?" she asks him. Damon does not immediately answer. His eyes gain a distant look, as if his thoughts are elsewhere (and they are. They're drifting back to his conversation with Ric in the cemetery and the witch's meddling.) "Before I...surprised you in the cemetery, I'd gone to see Ric and it's his guess that Witchy had something to do with it." Before she can take a breath to form a question, he holds a hand up. "Don't ask me how. I don't know."

"I do." The three of them turn at the familiar voice, and a confused Caroline only rolls her eyes at the history teacher's timely arrival. "Well, I've got an idea as to how." He suggest they pull up chairs, and Caroline (who's had one to herself all this time) sits back down in hers. Elena drags a chair beside the blonde and Damon declines, preferring to stand. "Given that she's a witch, I'll venture to say she formed some sort of bond. The strongest of these she can make is amongst blood. Blood makes for a stronger tie for that sort of magic she practices."

"And you know this how?" Elena wonders if it's her imagination or if she can detect a sliver of sarcasm in Damon's voice.

Alaric offers him a flat look.

"Isobel. She studied the supernatural, and it was that study that grew into an obsession for a particular supernatural species, which as we know, is vampires. That's not to say she didn't know her fair share about witches. Now, as I was saying, blood makes for stronger ties. Stefan's in a coma and Damon, you're certainly alive. And kicking," he continues, muttering the last bit under his breath. "Reasonable to say she worked out some sort of tie between you brothers; the extent or intensity of it? I don't know."

**A/N: Sorry, another short one. Not sure if I want to continue this. Should I? Do you guys want more chapters or nah? Tell me in a review? C:**


	10. Author's Note

**A/N: **

**Hey guys, I'm really sorry but it seems I've lost inspiration for this fic. I just don't have a muse for it anymore, so I don't believe I'll be continuing this. Terribly sorry for any inconvenience, but I hope you've enjoyed the previous chapters. - Ella**


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